As founder and President of L.A.’s legendary TreePeople, Andy Lipkis has brought visionary solutions to the once-poster child of municipal environmental dysfunction. Inventing the citizen forestry movement and engaging hundreds of thousands of Angelenos, over decades he has systematically demonstrated how to repair and restore an urban watershed by integrating ecology, economy and justice. As L.A.’s eco-governance model starts to spread globally, he will report from the frontlines of the City of Angels and Australia, which has engaged the entire citizenry as watershed managers.

Introduction by TreePeople Board Member Laurie Benenson.

This speech was given at the 2015 National Bioneers Conference.

Read an edited transcript of this talk here.